The author lost her first child, a son, at 42 weeks gestation, on April 4, 2008, when she was 33. Her second child, a daughter, was born on May 23, 2009.

Gwenzen is a lifelong writer and lover of words. She is an artist, teacher, yoga teacher, mother, wife, and zen practitioner. She has an insatiable curiosity for health, medicine, and nutrition. She lives in the Rocky Mountain west with her husband, daughter, dog, cat, many fish, and many plants, as well as the ashes of her dead son. She is a climber, a runner, and celiac sprue.